Aussie-Born Ministry of Coffee is Expanding Throughout Los Angeles

The new Ministry of Coffee location in West Hollywood. All images courtesy of Ministry of Coffee.

Australia-born Ministry of Coffee has expanded its Los Angeles-area footprint to six cafes with a new West Hollywood shop in a former Go Get Em Tiger space on Santa Monica Boulevard. The cafe held an official ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 18.

The company is led by Sean Wilson, Ilker Sanar and Jimmy Arslan. Wilson oversees commercial growth, Sanar leads operations and Arslan directs coffee and food product development, including Ministry’s long-running signature blend of East African coffees. 

The West Hollywood opening brings Ministry to seven cafes: six in the Los Angeles area and its original Avalon Beach location on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, which opened in 2013. The group moved into Los Angeles in 2017 with a cafe opening in Westwood.

“Jimmy is Aussie with Turkish heritage, Ilker is American with Turkish heritage and I am Australian with Italian heritage,” Wilson told Daily Coffee News. “There is a real generosity that runs through both Aussie and Turkish hospitality. You welcome people in, you want them to stay, you share food, you remember them when they come back. That is the feeling we try to create in every Ministry cafe.”

The cafes share common design elements, including a cream-and-orange palette, weathered finishes reminiscent of beachside cafes, natural materials and plants.

The former Go Get Em Tiger space presented a particular design challenge because it had been heavily oriented around walk-up window service.

Said Wilson, “We wanted to turn it into a genuine neighborhood cafe where people could come inside, sit down, meet someone, work for a while or simply stay for the whole day if [they] want.”

Ministry’s freshly redesigned coffee packaging draws on the shared surf cultures of Sydney and Los Angeles, including ocean blues and corrugated iron patterns that recall weathered Australian beach structures. 

Wilson said Australian cafe culture remains central to Ministry’s identity, combining relaxed hospitality with an emphasis on coffee standards, consistency, equipment, roasting and service. The company continues to have its coffees roasted in Sydney at a facility equipped with IMF roasters and more than 1.5 million kilograms of annual capacity, according to Wilson. Coffee is air-freighted from Sydney to Los Angeles weekly.

“We would rather go to the effort of sending that coffee across the Pacific every week because the recipe, the consistency and making sure it is perfect every time is so important to us,” Wilson said. “The consistency matters more to us than the postcode.”

At the cafes, espresso is prepared on three-group La Marzocco GB5 machines supported by multiple Mazzer grinders. Food programs vary by location between Ministry’s full Kitchen and streamlined “Kitchen Lite” formats.

“Our full Kitchen locations have a broader breakfast and lunch menu, including dishes such as shakshouka, omelettes, pancakes, toasts, bowls and burgers,” Wilson said. “Kitchen Lite is designed around faster locations and includes pastries, croissants and lighter food for people who are more grab and go.”

Beyond cafe expansion, Ministry is building packaged retail coffee, online sales, subscriptions and wholesale channels.

“Our next major milestone is to build towards 30 community cafes. But the number itself is not the goal,” Wilson said. “Over the past decade we have said no to more than 200 sites and opportunities because we would rather wait for the right location and the right partner than open stores simply for the sake of growth.”

Wilson said two additional cafes are planned for 2027, although locations and opening dates have not been announced.

Said Wilson, “The way people have welcomed us in Los Angeles has been incredible, and that relationship with the community is a big part of why we are so excited about continuing to grow here.”

Ministry of Coffee’s newest cafe is located at 8253 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, California.

Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter.